Topeka Resident has Sleepless Night After Winning
$20,000 Top Prize

Topeka resident Debbie Norris had a long, sleepless night
Tuesday after purchasing one of her favorite Kansas Lottery instant
scratch tickets - the $2 Double
Bonus Crossword. The 49-year-old couldn't believe her
good luck after she revealed 10 words on her ticket to win a
$20,000 top prize!

"I've been so excited about winning, I haven't slept," said
Norris. "As I was scratching my ticket last night, I noticed
I already had seven words with four more letters to go. I
thought I must have won $100. After checking the ticket again
I came up with nine words, which would have made the ticket worth
$2,000. After finding nine words, I checked and checked the ticket
several more times and finally came up with 10 words."

Norris, who was still uncertain of the amount she had won, rode
her bicycle three miles to a friend's house so he could check the
ticket, too.

"I was so excited I didn't care that it was four in the
morning," Norris said. "After my friend looked at the ticket,
he thought I had 11 words but that's not possible so I was pretty
sure I had 10 words. When I got home, I texted everyone I
know, hoping someone would be awake so I would have someone to be
excited with me."

The lucky winner was thrilled when one of her friends, who is
also named Debbie, returned her text message.

"When I told Debbie how much I thought I had won, she
immediately drove up from Carbondale," said Norris. "When my
8-year-old son woke up I told him how much I had won and he was
excited too. He's already asked me to buy him an X-Box. When
the Lottery office opened this morning, Debbie called and had my
ticket verified. I was too nervous to call myself. It was a
huge relief knowing it was a $20,000 winner."

Norris said she plans to purchase a moped with a portion of her
winnings and also buy her son a new bicycle and an X-Box gaming
system.

The winning ticket was purchased at Kwik Shop 781, located at
4500 S. Topeka Blvd. in Topeka. There are 21 $20,000 top
prizes remaining in the $2 Double Bonus Crossword game as well as
hundreds of thousands of other cash prizes.